Beer: Ratings & Reviews

Reviews by JayQue:

Pours a hazy orange with a smallish head that dies out fast. Minimal lacing. Strong smell of Belgian candi sugar, fresh fruit - pears and apples.

Taste is very good. More Belgian candi sugar,fruits and a good dollop of warming alcohol. I don't know if it is the function of taste or mouthfeel but the flavors do not linger on the tongue. The initial blast is great, but this beer lacks the complexities/ lingering flavors that some Belgians provide.

The mouthfeel is rich, but once again, does ont hold the flavors or provide additional aftertastes.

Drinkability is about right for a Belgian. Splitting the bomber with someone else is about the right amount of this beer.

More User Reviews:

A: Pours a semi-clear copper color - very atypical for a quad. The head is two fingers high, and off-white in shade. Retention is pretty good for 12%, but the texture is rougher than others in the style. There are some streaks of lacing left on the glass.

S: The nose is appropriately big. It features both big fruits (lighter ones like cherry, rather than dark fruits) and a healthy bread-laden backbone. Also decently spicy in spurts. Victory is never afraid to hop a beer well, and I'm thankful for it: the herbal and even citrusy notes balance out the lighter malt/fruit quite well. Aromatically, it isn't much like a quad - it's more like Duvel on steroids. That's a very good thing, though.

T: It's somewhat hoppy at first. The light, herbal hop notes bring memories of Rochefort 10 (though this has a bit more black pepper and a bit less tobacco - that, and the malt construct is a whole different beast altogether). While there are some pleasant lighter fruit flavors (cherry, orange, and grapefruit), the spiciness is what dominates. Victory has restrained the yeastiness nicely, as well. It doesn't seem as bready as its Belgian counterparts, but it also achieves a level of cohesion and harmony lacking in the 'Murican ones. Combined with the mild notes of caramel malt, it creates a brew that's both reasonably complex and nicely balanced - it just isn't very quad-like, that's all.

M: The first few sips seem a touch boozy. Afterwards, they don't seem boozy at all. It's still telling me it's a strong, sipping beer (especially with the full-body warming sensation), just not a needlessly alcoholic one. Carbonation is about what I'd expect, decently powerful yet soft.

O: This would be one of the best 'Murican-made quads on the market...if it were a quad to begin with. To me, this seems closer to a big-ass grand cru or even a massive saison. Yeah, I said it. It's dry enough, spicy enough, and *just* light enough where if Victory called it an imperial saison, I wouldn't be too upset. Still, its high level of quality combined with its respectable price point makes it a winner, no matter what style it is.

I dont drink alot of Quads only on certain occasions,CHRISTmas is one of those occasions.Poured into an oversized wine glass a deep auburn color with a creamy thinner off white head that left patchy lace behind as it settled rather slowly.Aromas of raisin/prune,roasted nuts,brown sugar,and slight phenolic spice with alcohol that creeps.Flavors are like an alcohol dipped holiday fruit cake,its full of dark fruit with notes of a nutty port,a sweet cake-like flavor lingers as well.The alcohol with hit ya but it wont punch ya,a nice holiday-type flavor to it although not intended,maybe a litle early to drink this today....zzz.

Appearance  Head? You gotta be kidding. After almost throwing my arm out I got a little foam but it went down faster than Courtney Love at a rock concert. The huge ABV killed all chances of a head for this Quad.

The body itself is pure liquid gold. It is an amazingly brilliant orange in color and crystal clear. I could find my way through a cave with this beer.

Smell  Liquid sugar and alcohol best sums up this big fella. The malts are dark and even a bit yeasty. The sweet aroma of orange syrup runs this show, though. The alcohol is big but actually very easy on the nose.

Taste  The orange syrup liqueur is in force at the taste. The toasty malts and light yeast give this one some good complexity. The sugary flavors though run away with it. I really enjoyed the even keel that Victory manages to keep on a beer with so much sugar and so much alcohol.

Mouthfeel  I can barely pick up the 12% warming of this high-octane medium to full-bodied Quad. This is lip-smacking sticky sugars meets ultra-smooth triple sec in the mouth.

Drinkability  Im almost ashamed to say how easily I downed this bottle of 3+ ounces of pure alcohol (750ml * 12% ABV). I drank this seven months from the bottling date. This is not one to age. It is broken down and ready to drink, probably the day after its bottled.

Comments  A huge thanks to GeoffFromSJ for sending me this gem from one of my favorite breweries. I had this to celebrate a new job that Im starting on Monday. Cheers to BA!

Pours a surprisingly light apple juice color, no lace to speak of. Smells of bready malts and bananas. Taste is lovely, bready and spicy, with some banana and other flavors (which are beyond my ability to identify, but like though). Mouthfeel is a bit syrupy, and is a bit too fizzy for my tastes, although that recedes as the beer warms. As the bottle states, this is sheer liquid luxury.

Overall, this is a very nice quadrupel. Very warming and soothing on a cold, blustery winter's night. Quite drinkable, in fact, considering the high ABV. This one really hit the spot.

750ml bottle served in a snifter. The beer was a dark amber color with a small white head. It had an aroma of cotton candy. A more complex taste consisting of candy, fruit, and some late hops. It got better as it warmed. Now that Victory is here in Maine, I will be looking for this beer.

T- Taste of dark of prunes hits you right in beginning. The prunes turn into a hint of molasses with a delicious segue of ripe peach before it finishes with a canadian whiskey-like butteriness. And finally the taste culminates with the subtle mixture of alcohol and the resin of european hops. The aftertaste that lingers is one of molasses and hops.

M- High carbonation blends well with its slight syrupy thickness. The alcohol leaves a nice warmth in the back of your throat.

D-Dangerously drinkable. You feel the alcohol, but it definitely does not taste like a typical Belgian Quad so beware.

750 ml bottle, caged and corked - dated 8/10/06. Pours a golden copper with a big dense fluffy white head that retains well and laces the glass. Bottle conditioned with lots of yeasties at the bottom of the bottle.

The aroma is musty yeast, bready dough, pears, and some cola-like spices.

The flavor is sweet sugary malts, followed by some peppery yeasty spices, a little pear and apple and a bit of alcohol with a bitter almost tar-like finish. Normally I don't care for the sweetness and alcohol, but this is well done and balanced well. The mouthfeel is medium to full and creamy with ample but not harsh carbonation. It's a little on the syrupy side.

Presentation: It was poured from a brown 750ml bottle into a tulip glass. The bottle is labeled with its ABV% (12.0%) and a bottled on date of "Sep 18 2009".

Appearance: It has a hazy orange amber colored body which was a little lighter than I had expected. With in it there are some small bits of yeast sediment floating around. On top the head which started out at about two finger tall settles down to just a light ring of foam around the edge of the glass. Lacing is very slick and slippery.

Smell: Wow, this one lets you know right away that it's a big serious beer. The aroma has big boozy character with strong fruity/estery yeast notes reminiscent of raisons and stone fruits.

Taste/Palate: Again wow, there is some warmth here from the abv but it's not harsh. It just adds a warm slow sipping character to the overall picture with also brings good estery yeast, sweet malt and light hops. I get notes of apricot, peaches, golden raisons and red pear. Hop flavor comes out a bit towards the finish but overall it ends fairly sweet with a warm boozy touch. Its texture is smooth but still carbonated and pleasant.

Notes: This is decent Quadruple, not my favorite but it was still interesting.

I plowed through one of these on an afternoon. Not a bad beer at all. Looks like a 2009. the conditioning was fine. I think the balance was pretty good, too. Don't know what possessed me to buy this. I'm trying to reduce the inventory, looks like a pleasurable task.

This is my first Victory, so I didn't have a clue what to expect. The label says Belgian inspired ale, but I don't get the connection with this big boy. Syrupy sweet fruitiness dominates. Too sweet for my palate. Maybe this one will improve with age, but I'm not impressed overall.

A rare treat to try this gem on tap at the Blind Tiger in lower NYC. This beer thankfully was left over from last weeks allways special , "very special Keg" fest at the Tiger. Poured murky mahogony with a slight, but tight tan head. This is a large, bold and strong brew. Notes of vanilla, light raisins. sweet fruity notes, some spice all rolled into a smooth high quality sipper/night capper. Get some and enjoy!

The taste surpassed even my already high expectations. Sweet caramel with fruitiness mixed in, a very fine representation of a quad, in my book at least. Smooth, port like mouthfeel. Damn I want another bottle.

Not going to be able to drink a whole lot of this at a time, but if you see a bottle of this don't deny yourself the absolute pleasure of trying it.